


Don't You Know Who I Am?

by emkjason



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: High School AU, M/M, Prom, Teenager AU, prom au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-07-19 04:02:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7343986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emkjason/pseuds/emkjason
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'm a firm believer in living life like a fairy tale."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [steviewantsjoshler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/steviewantsjoshler/gifts).



> Hi friends! For any of you who are new, welcome! I really enjoy writing Joshler fics. I'll update likely Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday nights, but I cannot say that is for sure. I just picked up another job, but I will try my best to make sure that I update this AT LEAST twice a week. If you like this, please read my other two Joshler fics that are completed. This is a gift for my very good friend who is known as steviewantsjoshler, so I hope you enjoy! :) This should not have any triggers for anyone, but if you think otherwise, please let me know so I can fix it! Please leave kudos and comments (I especially LOVE comments) if you like it! I will continue this if I see positive feedback!

"Does anyone even actually want to go to prom?" Tyler asked.

He was lying face-first on his bed. Hayley, his best friend, was sitting beside him and smoothing out the wrinkles in the sheets. 

"I don't know. I mean, I really do, but I'm a firm believer in living life like a fairy tale.” she replied.

Tyler hadn't really thought about prom until Hayley asked him to go with her to buy a dress. Prom wasn’t as big of a deal for him as it was for Hayley, but he had always figured that he would go and have some fun. Hayley had asked him to go with her a month and a half ago, but now with only seventeen days left, it was really coming down to the wire. He had an idea of who he wanted to take to prom, but there was literally no way that was going to happen. 

Josh Dun was one of the most popular and beautiful men in the entire school. He had a winning smile, an amazing body, and was skilled in every aspect. Tyler couldn’t really tell if he wanted to be Josh or just wanted to date Josh, but either way, Tyler couldn’t help the fact that he had dreamt since ninth grade that Josh would be his date to prom. 

“Do you think that I could get someone to actually like, go to prom with me?” Tyler said, rolling over onto his back and staring up at the ceiling fan.

“Well, I mean, it depends. Who are you thinking about?” she responded, sitting up and looking into his eyes. 

“Uh,” Tyler said, his eyes quickly looking over to Hayley’s.

He knew he couldn’t lie since they had been best friends since they were four. She knew every facial expression and what it meant, including his lying face (even though pretty much anyone could figure out when Tyler was lying). 

“Josh Dun?” she said, a smile soon after creeping across her face. 

Tyler felt himself blush and he grabbed a pillow to cover his face with. Hayley tried to smack the pillow out of Tyler’s hands and fought with him for a moment. 

“You totally have a thing for Josh Dun! I knew it, Tyler! I so know you!” she said, stopping and falling back down on the bed.

“Shut up.” he said, fully covering his face with the pillow. 

Maybe he could suffocate himself so that he didn't have to deal with Hayley knowing this anymore. Tyler had been crushing on Josh since he first came to the school in ninth grade. 

The thing was, Josh really hadn’t noticed Tyler all that much. Sure, they had mutual friends so they had seen each other before and spoken once or twice, but they weren’t friends at all (likely because every time Josh came around, Tyler would forget how to speak and turn the color of a lobster the entire time). There wasn’t anything Tyler could do in the next seventeen days that would make Josh want to go to prom with him at all. He was just doomed. 

Hayley, in the meantime, had a look of concentration on her face. Tyler knew that face too well. 

“No, Hayley.” Tyler said. 

“What are you talking about? You don’t even know what I’m thinking!” she said back before standing up from the bed and walking to the other side of Tyler’s room. 

Tyler felt the weight lifted off of the bed and heard the springs squeak. His parents had been promising him he was going to get a new bed for the past five years, but nothing has happened yet and likely never will. He watched Hayley strum the strings of the guitar absentmindedly and look at the basketball pictures that Tyler had hanging on the walls. There was a framed picture of Hayley and Tyler in second grade that sat on Tyler’s dresser, so she paused to stare at that for a moment. 

“As much as I would love to go as your oh-so-cliché best friend date to prom, I already promised Chad that I would be going with him. So, because I cannot be there as your best friend date, I will instead be getting you a date by the name of Josh Dun.” Hayley said, smiling at Tyler, who had just put the pillow over his face again. 

“Hayley, I don’t want help. It’s just some stupid dream of mine to be able to go to prom with someone as handsome as him. It’s all fake! I mean, it’s just a fantasy!” Tyler said, his voice muffled through the cloth and the stuffing. 

“Well, Tyler, as I said merely moments ago,” Hayley said, “I am a firm believer in living life like a fairy tale.”

Tyler sighed audibly.


	2. No Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He really wished he had never mentioned prom in the first place or else none of this would have happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I really hope you enjoy this chapter. Sorry it took me longer than I expected, I've just been really tired lately. I might start another chapter of this tonight, but I can't guarantee, so depending on how tired I am, I may or may not write another chapter tonight. Anyways, enough crap about that! Please leave kudos and comments (I especially LOOOVE comments) if you like it!

Hayley went home a few minutes after that since they had school the next morning and she still had to do the biology homework. Tyler was slightly relieved since he didn't really want to talk to her about Josh anymore. As lovely as it would be if that relationship were to happen, it never would. Tyler wasn’t going to get his hopes up. 

He soon after fell asleep with his lamp still on and butterflies in his stomach. 

Tyler woke up to the sound of his phone beeping. He rubbed his eyes for a moment and reached over to turn the lamp off. He tried to adjust his eyes to being awake, but finally just gave up and turned on his phone, feeling as if he were burning holes in his retinas due to the brightness. No matter how low he turned it down, it always managed to blind him first thing in the morning. 

Hayley: Come to school early - like 7:30. And wear something nice! :) <3 U. 

Tyler groaned and turned his phone off. He just knew that this was part of her plan to get Tyler with Josh for prom even though Tyler had already told her no. He was about to go back to sleep, but he heard his bedroom door open. He rolled over and saw his mom standing in the doorway. 

“Hey, sweetheart. Time to get up!” she said with a smile. 

“What? It’s only 6:45. I never wake up before 7:15.” he replied. 

“Well, I got a text message from Hayley who said to make sure you’re dressed nicely and at school by 7:30.” she replied. 

Tyler curled himself up in a tighter ball and groaned. He really wished he had never mentioned prom in the first place or else none of this would have happened. Maybe he should blame Josh, since Josh was the one who made Tyler think about prom. Stupid Josh. 

Tyler’s mom refused to leave the room until she saw that Tyler was awake and started to get ready, so he finally just agreed and figured he would fight with Hayley once he got to the school. He put on what he considered a “nice” shirt, which was a button-up floral shirt. It was his favorite one, but it didn’t matter anyways because he wasn’t going to do anything Hayley said - at least that’s what he told himself.

The drive to school was eerily silent. Tyler could tell his mom wanted to ask a lot of questions, but she was very quiet and just wished him a good day at school when he dropped him off. He waved to her and thanked whatever made her not ask those questions. 

Hayley was standing in the lobby and waiting with her hands behind her back. Once Tyler saw her, he gave her an overly fake smile. 

“What do you have behind your back?” he asked. 

“I have your ticket to prom with a certain someone!” she said, before leaning in closer, “Josh Dun.”

Tyler swatter her on the arm. 

“Shush, I don’t want the entire school to know who I like. Also, I told you to stay out of it. I’m not going with him!” Tyler said. 

“Well, that’s too bad because I bought flowers for him that you will give.” she said while pulling the bouquet of various flowers out from behind her back, “Also, I was going to change you $15 for these, but then I realized that you deserve this gift, even though you don’t get to keep it. You get to keep a man though.” Hayley said, smirking at her last statement. 

Tyler was about to open his mouth and protest, but he was cut off by a certain someone. 

“Ooh, nice flowers. Who’s the lucky lady?” Josh himself asked. 

Tyler stood there shocked for a moment. He couldn’t believe that a) Josh Dun was standing there and talking to him or b) that Josh Dun was that incredibly hot even on a school day. 

Tyler stammered for a moment before saying, “N-not a girl.” 

“Dude, I know. I’m just messing with you.” Josh said, a large smile taking over his face. 

Tyler laughed shyly and started blushing. He pulled at the collar of his button-up shirt. It was loose when he first put it on, but now it felt constricting. 

“Well, I better get going. See you later.” Josh said, nodding his head and turning to walk towards the direction of his locker.

Tyler feebly waved goodbye at Josh’s turned back before turning to Hayley. 

“Go! Go after him!” Hayley urged, shoving the flowers into Tyler’s hands. 

“What?! I can’t!” Tyler said.

“Tyler, if you don’t go now, you never will.” Hayley said, giving him a slight shove in the direction of Josh. 

Tyler swallowed hard and started to walk down the hallway after Josh, turning to look at Hayley one more time before speeding up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I left a cliffhanger, muhaha! I always feel bad when I leave cliffhangers, so I tend to write the next chapter sooner. Comment, kudos, share on your social media, whatever! Thank you so, so much for reading this! :)


	3. The Only Thing That Matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe this is what the fairy tale that Hayley always talks about feels like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will I ever stop using blink-182 song titles as my chapter titles? Nope. For any of you blink fans (like me!), I just want to make sure you know that I LOVE California more than I love anything else in this world. Now, back to the story! Sorry this took me so long to update. I haven't been super motivated recently (which is weird for any of you who know me). Everything will be normal soon! :) I hope you enjoy this! (Also, I made this 1100 words for some reason. That's longer than most of my chapters!)

Tyler could feel his legs shaking with every step he took. He knew the route to Josh’s locker; he had been there with Brendon a few times before. Maybe Tyler also imagined himself walking down the hallway to meet his dream boyfriend at his locker. Maybe. 

The only other time Tyler was this nervous was when he had to give a speech in front of five hundred people about some strange animal that was going extinct. He didn’t do too well with that presentation, so he can only hope he will do better this time. Hopefully he won’t vomit everywhere like he did in sixth grade, but who knows? He might. 

The thorns from the orange roses that were in the bouquet cut up Tyler’s hands, but he didn’t really notice. He was mainly focused on what in the world he was supposed to say. Should he make a corny joke or just straight out ask Josh? This was harder than Tyler had expected. He turned the corner and entered the hallway that Josh’s locker was in. 

Then Tyler saw him. He was standing with his locker door wide open and had his phone in front of his face. He giggled at something on the screen before clicking off his phone and setting it on a shelf in his locker. He soon after started to take the books out from his backpack and put them away. Josh hummed some tune from a fairly recognizable song, but Tyler couldn’t put his finger on which one it was. 

Tyler realized he looked very odd currently, as he was crouched behind a wall with only his head sticking out from behind it. He was extremely thankful in that moment (for the first time ever) that Josh was too busy doing other stuff to notice Tyler. 

This was the moment that Tyler had been waiting for for three years. He was going to ask the guy of his dreams to prom (and likely get rejected, but who cares? Oh wait, Tyler does). Tyler cleared his throat and left his spot from behind the wall. Josh’s eyes snapped up from what he was doing and he looked at Tyler. A curious look overcame his face and his jaw dropped once he realized. 

“Uh, hi.” Tyler said, his voice shaking a bit due to his nervousness. 

“Oh man, no way.” Josh said, smiling largely. 

Tyler laughed a bit before saying, “Yes way.”

Josh smiled even more and started blushing. He pulled his hands up to his face and covered his mouth and smile, but it was still visible in his eyes. Here was Tyler’s moment - all he had to do was say the words that he had dreamt about for years now. 

“Josh, I was wondering if you would be my date to the prom?” Tyler said. 

There was a moment of silence that felt like forever to Tyler, but was likely only a second. Josh nodded and wrapped his arms around Tyler, pulling him into a hug. Tyler hugged back, the flowers still in his left hand. The hug was wonderful and everything that Tyler had possibly ever dreamed of. Josh was warm, smelled amazing, and was a great hugger. 

Once they pulled apart, Tyler held out the flowers as an offering to Josh. 

“Be careful. Some of them have thorns which can really mess up your hands.” Tyler said quietly, chuckling afterwards. 

Josh pulled the flowers away and looked at Tyler’s hand which had a trail of blood dripping from his palm. Josh’s eyes widened. 

“Whoa, are you okay?” he said, panic obvious in his voice. 

“I’m fine!” Tyler said, glancing at the blood and moving his hand so that it changed directions. 

“Here, I’ll help you clean it up in the bathroom.” Josh said, setting the flowers in his open locker and leading Tyler to the nearest bathroom. 

Once they got there, Josh worked to get a napkin wet while Tyler hopped up on the counter and waited. He liked the feeling of this. Josh Dun had actually said yes to going to prom with him. He had actually seemed excited and happy to be asked by Tyler. Happy!

Josh started wiping up the running blood from Tyler’s hand and then pressed the wet towel to the bleeding spot. Josh took that moment to smile and look deeply into Tyler’s eyes, making Tyler’s heart start to race. 

“Are you sure you want to go to prom with me?” Tyler asked again, nervous to hear the answer. 

“Yes. I am extremely sure; the most sure I have ever been in my life.” Josh said while smiling. 

“Okay, good. I was just checking.” Tyler said, a smile stretching across his face as well. 

After the wound was cleaned up, Tyler hopped off the counter and stood nervously in the bathroom waiting to hear what Josh would say next. 

“I should probably go get ready for class. Oh, by the way, here’s my phone number.” Josh said, pulling a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket, then scribbling a number and handing it to Tyler, “Also, you should totally come sit with me in the band room during lunch block. We can talk about what color we should wear to prom.” 

Tyler took the piece of paper and nodded. 

“That sounds really nice.” Tyler said, giving a small smile. 

“Awesome! I’ll see you then.” Josh said. 

He paused for a moment and looked at Tyler before delivering a quick kiss to his cheek and heading out the door as quickly as possible. A blush then covered Tyler’s entire face. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and put in Josh’s number. It was 7:53, so he had about five minutes to get to Hayley, tell her how it went, get his books, and get to class. 

With a giant smile on his face, he exited the bathroom and started to walk down the hallway. 

Hayley was waiting by her locker, which just so happened to be next to Tyler’s (and by just-so-happened, he means that Hayley gave the woman $20). She stood there and grinned at him. 

“So, you don’t have any flowers in your hands and you don’t look like you’ve been crying, so it must have went well?” she said. 

“He said that he was ‘extremely sure’ he wanted to go to prom with me!” Tyler said. 

Hayley’s eyes lit up as if it were Christmas and she started jumping up and down.

“Oh Tyler, I knew it! I so knew it! You didn’t believe me, but I know everything.” she said before pulling Tyler into a hug and squeezing him tightly. 

Maybe this is what the fairy tale that Hayley always talks about feels like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! They're going to prom together!!! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! As always, sharing, kudos(ing?), and commenting is GREATLY appreciated. Did I tell you guys that every time I read a comment, I actually feel the need to wrap myself in a blanket and roll around for a while, even if it is something simple. I <3 you guys so much.


	4. Halo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All of Tyler’s worries disappeared once he entered the music room and saw Josh sitting cross-legged on the floor, a full lunch spread in front of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm super sorry this took forever to update! It's a weird time for me right now.. Anyways, I hope you enjoy a TON! Feel free to comment, kudos, share, whatever! :)

Tyler does not think that time could go any slower than it was in that moment. He was sitting in his fourth hour class, the class right before his lunch block, which just so happened to be his most boring class: Precalculus. 

Perhaps this is what Hell feels like, Tyler thought to himself. 

He watched the hands on the clock tick by with each passing second and then glanced over at Brendon, one of his closest friends. Brendon had his head on the desk in front of his. Drool was leaking from the side of his mouth and he was quite obviously asleep. 

Tyler figured he could follow suit and pressed his head down on the desk. Within what felt like a second, he heard a hand smack on his desk and he opened his eyes. His teacher was staring at him with a frown on her face. 

“Head off of the desk, Joseph. This isn’t nap class.” she said before walking back to the front of the class to continue teaching. 

Tyler was about to protest and point out Brendon, but he realized that it just wasn’t worth it. He didn’t need to ruin someone else’s day just because he was being impatient. He only had three and a half minutes left until he got to go to lunch, which meant only a few more minutes until he got to spend thirty whole minutes just talking to or looking at Josh Dun. To say he was excited was quite the understatement. 

He just zoned out for the next few minutes, his ears only starting to listen again when he heard her mention the homework for the night. He started to shove his books into his backpack and stand up once he heard the bell ring. He glanced over at Brendon, who had just lifted his head off of the table and wiped his drool from the corner of his mouth. Tyler then waved lightly and took off towards the band room. 

He realized half way down the hallway that Josh likely wasn’t in the band room yet, so Tyler really should just slow down and try to even out his breathing. He was extremely nervous again, even though he got the yes he was hoping for. Maybe Josh, in the first four periods of the day, found another person to go to prom with and had immediately dropped Tyler. 

All of Tyler’s worries disappeared once he entered the music room and saw Josh sitting cross-legged on the floor, a full lunch spread in front of him. Josh smiled largely at Tyler and gestured for him to come sit down. 

“Hey, Joseph. How was class?” Josh asked as Tyler sat down in front of him. 

“Not bad, not good. Precalculus sucks but music was cool.” Tyler said, grabbing his lunch from his backpack before sliding the bag as far away as possible, “What about you?”

“I had my worst four classes in the entire world this morning, so it wasn’t the best. It’s better now that I see you, though.” Josh said, making Tyler blush. 

“Hah, that was cute.” Tyler said, unraveling the plastic from around his sandwich. 

“I know you are.” Josh said, winking as Tyler looked up. 

Tyler tried to come up with a witty response but just gave up and let his cheeks continue to be flushed. 

“So, we should probably talk about this whole prom business.” Josh said, smirking a bit. 

“Oh, yeah!” Tyler said, immediately wanting to punch himself due to the fact he had sounded like an eleven year old girl.

He shoved a bite of sandwich in his mouth to try to stop himself from speaking anymore. 

“So what’s your favorite color?” Josh asked.

Tyler held up his pointer finger as a signal to wait while he finished chewing the bite of his sandwich he had taken. Josh nodded understandingly and started searching through his lunch box for something. 

“Red.” Tyler said before taking a sip from his water bottle. 

“Awesome! That’s my favorite color too.” Josh said, his hand still stuffed into his lunch box while he looked for something. 

Josh pulled something out, paused, and opened it up. Tyler couldn’t see much of it, but he saw that it was written in thick black ink that was slightly smudged from the wetness in Josh’s lunchbox. 

“What’s that?” Tyler asked, curiosity finally winning. 

“Oh, nothing.” Josh said before stuffing it back into the lunchbox and out of Tyler’s sight. 

Tyler was about to say something in response, but was cut off by the sound of the ringing bell. That did not feel like thirty minutes to either of them. Josh picked up all of the wrappers from his food and threw them in the nearby classroom. Tyler noticed that something had changed with Josh since Tyler had asked about the letter - he was quiet and a bit jumpy. 

Josh picked up his empty lunchbox and started to leave, but turned around and said, “I’ll see you after classes, Ty. Maybe we can grab ice cream after school?”

Tyler nodded enthusiastically about the ice cream offer, but soon after realized he didn’t bring any money to school. He had left it all on his dresser. He would have to bum some off of Hayley or Brendon, but that’s fine. 

“That sounds great!” Tyler said. 

“Awesome. I’ll see you then.” Josh said before heading out the doorway. 

Tyler started to put all of his lunch stuff away before he heard footsteps return. Josh was standing with just his head in the doorway and a big smile on his face. 

“I’m gonna pick up a red tie this weekend, by the way.” Josh said before disappearing again. 

There are no words to describe the way that Tyler’s heart felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! I'll try my best to update ASAP! Hopefully I will have something out by Saturday. Again, kudos, sharing, and comments are super, supper appreciated! Every time I see there is a new comment, my heart fills with so much joy <3


	5. Feeling This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again, Josh Dun had made Tyler Joseph the most impatient person on the entire face of this planet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I got this out a day later than I expected to, but I hope it is still okay. Thank you for all of the nice comments! I appreciate them more than you will ever know. If any of you ever want to skype/text/email, feel free to leave your contact info in the comments or in my ask box on my tumblr (stargerard.tumblr.com). I'll be sure to send you a message! I hope you enjoy!

Once again, Josh Dun had made Tyler Joseph the most impatient person on the entire face of this planet. Not only did Tyler have to struggle through his first four periods, but now he had to get through another three before he got to see Josh again. 

In his last period of the day, Tyler was fortunate enough to see Hayley. He had texted her multiple times about bringing money to biology class, but she rarely checked her phone during the school day unless she knew something important was happening. Tyler really didn’t want to risk going after class and Josh seeing that Tyler had no money on him, but that was Tyler’s own fault if Josh did see. 

Hayley walked into class where Tyler was waiting, set her books on the table, and sat in her seat. Tyler was trying to gauge if Hayley had brought the money or not. He knew that if she had missed his text, she would feel bad about it for approximately the next two weeks. On the other hand, if she had the money but had just forgotten to give it to Tyler, he would be money-less and would have to ask her in the sights of Josh. 

Hayley smiled over at Tyler and flipped open the cover of her orange binder. She pulled out the homework and her eyes automatically attached to a blue sticky note that was stuck on the inside pocket of her binder. She pulled it off and read it closely. 

“Oh!” She exclaimed before reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a $20 bill and slid it onto Tyler’s desk before saying, “A gift for my dear friend. Also, I want any and all change back.” 

Tyler felt impulsed to hug her forever. 

“I love you more than anyone else in this entire world, Hayley.” Tyler whispered as the teacher just came in and closed the door behind him. 

Hayley smiled at him and turned back to her work. She tore off the corner of a piece of paper and scribbled something on it before sliding it onto Tyler’s desk. He cautiously glanced at her before unfolding it. 

Even more than Josh Dun?

Tyler felt his face flare up with embarrassment. He considered writing something back, but didn’t want to get caught passing notes by the teacher. Well, at least that’s what he told himself instead of admitting that he really had no proper comeback for that. 

Tyler stuffed the note into his bag and made a mental note to burn it later.

Biology was, as per usual, extremely boring. The teacher was discussing the anatomy of a rabbit, since that is what they would be dissecting in the next class period. Tyler almost couldn’t stop bouncing in his seat and smiling, though, since he knew what was coming after. Everyone in the classroom, including his teacher and Hayley, kept glancing over and him and wondering what in the world was wrong inside his head. The topic currently discussed isn’t one people usually smile at. Tyler really didn’t care though, since he only have four minutes left until the bell rang and he was free to go. 

He tried his best to wipe the smile off of his face and look serious for a few minutes. As soon as he heard the bell, he leapt out of his seat and headed for the door. A small hand clamped on his shoulder first and he was pulled back down to his seat. 

“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Hayley said. 

Tyler watched everyone else in the class start to stand up and leave. 

“I thought I texted you and told you that I’m going to get ice cream after school with Josh.” Tyler said, reaching for his bag again in an attempt to escape. 

“No, you just send me the money and dollar sign emojis. I guessed on what you meant.” Hayley said before taking her hand off of Tyler’s shoulders and saying, “I figured I guessed correctly when you looked at me as if I had a halo when I handed you the twenty.” 

“I really, really appreciate it.” Tyler said before standing up with his bag. He leaned over and kissed Hayley’s cheek before starting to leave. 

“Make sure you use protection!” Hayley said. 

Tyler giggled under his breath and headed to Josh’s locker. Josh was standing outside his locker and smiling when Tyler appeared around the corner. Josh shook his keys and started waling towards Tyler. They met in the middle of the hallway and Josh pulled Tyler in for a hug. 

Once they split, Josh said, “Ready to go?”

Tyler nodded eagerly and followed beside Josh to the parking lot. Most kids were starting to pull out of the lot or waiting for the bus, but Tyler still felt nervous. All of these people were staring at Josh and him. Would they know that they were about to go on a date? Did Josh want to hide the fact that they were together? Were they even together?

Josh held the passenger door open to his car for Tyler, which resulted in Tyler blushing (again, for Christ’s sake). Josh walked over to his side of the car and hopped in before starting the car. 

“You can play whatever you want on the radio, I like basically everything that isn’t country. I also have some CDs in the door if you prefer those.” Josh said before starting to back out of the parking spot. 

Tyler starting looking at the CDs in the door since he knew most radio stations wouldn’t be play anything good at the moment. Josh had quite the collection, from Rise Against to blink-182 to Fall Out Boy. Tyler grabbed blink-182’s Self-Titled album and popped it in. 

‘Feeling This’ started blasting through the speakers, but instead of Josh reaching to turn the music down, he just tried his best to sing louder than the loud drums and guitar. Tyler laughed and sang a few words along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I'll update as soon as possible, but I am currently trying to balance a job, a college class, and my social life. Please comment, kudos, and share. I love you all so, so much! :) <3 Talk to you soon!


	6. Lonely Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even after they ate their ice cream, they sat and talked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Wow, it's been forever since I posted. Super, super sorry about that. I had a moment of extreme panic followed by a few days of just being uninspired. I was actually going to go to sleep tonight at about 11PM EST, but I suddenly had a craving to write.. So I did! Now it is 12:40AM EST. Oops! I really hope you guys don't mind I didn't update for a while... I needed a break. Anyways, I will see you guys soon (at least sooner than it took me to write this chapter). Comment, kudos, and share please! :) I hope you enjoy.

“Did you like my singing?” Josh asked, flashing a giant smile at Tyler once the car came to a stop. 

Tyler nodded and laughed aloud before saying, “It was amazing. Best singing I have ever heard.” 

Josh laughed, his eyes squinting in a way that made Tyler’s chest flutter. Josh held up one finger to Tyler as a signal for him to wait. Tyler nodded understandingly and watched Josh run around the front of the car to open the door for Tyler. 

Tyler felt a blush crawl up onto his cheeks before he said, “Such a gentleman! Thank you, Josh.” 

Josh smiled sheepishly and watched Tyler get out of the car. Tyler took a few steps towards the building before he felt Josh’s hand grab his. 

“Is that okay?” Josh whispered, his mouth close to Tyler’s ear. 

“Oh, yeah. Of course.” Tyler said back, squeezing Josh’s hand reassuringly. 

“Okay, I figured so. I just - I just wanted to make sure. I don’t ever want to make you uncomfortable.” Josh said, eyes glancing down at the ground once he realized that he was babbling. 

“No, I completely get it. I actually really, really appreciate it.” Tyler said.

Josh smiled again and held the door open to the tiny ice cream parlor. Tyler had never been there before since there was one much closer to his house, but the neon signs and brightly colored booths made it feel as if it were a second home to Tyler. 

Tyler kept looking at the decor. It was if it were from a nineties movie and Tyler was the main star. It made sense, since Josh was the hunky guy who appeared into Tyler’s life out of nowhere. 

“Do you know what you’re getting?” Josh asked. 

Tyler broke out of his trance and stared up at the menu. Someone walked by and touched Josh on the shoulder, which prompted him to smile and wave. Tyler finally decided on a type of ice cream before turning around and trying to look at whoever Josh had just seen. 

“Who was that?” Tyler asked once he realized they were gone.

“Old friend of mine. We went to grade school together. Her name is Ashley.” Josh explained. 

“Oh, I see.” Tyler said. 

Tyler felt himself start to get nervous once they got closer and closer to the counter. He was always extremely nervous ordering anything and talking to strangers, but he wanted to make a good impression. He didn’t want Josh to think that he was incapable of speaking to people.

Tyler took a few deep breaths and tried to pretend his palms weren’t sweating a ton. Josh looked over at him and a look of worry came over his face.

“Hey, Ty. Are you okay?” Josh asked. 

Tyler took a deep breath before answering, “Yeah, totally fine.”

“Listen, do you need me to order for you? It’s really no big deal. I totally get it.” Josh said, moving his hand to reassuringly touching Tyler’s shoulder. 

“No, no, I- I got- Yeah, actually, If you would.” Tyler finally managed to say. 

“No worries. What do you want?” Josh said, a smile appearing on his face and replacing the look of worry. 

“Can I have a medium twist cone?” Tyler whispered, now worrying about if everyone was laughing at his not being able to order for himself.

“Of course. It’s a classic!” Josh said, playfully bumping shoulders with Tyler. 

It was then their time to order. Tyler sank back and looked embarrassed once the cashier looked at him expectantly, but Josh soon covered. 

“Can we have a medium cherry milkshake and a medium twist cone?” Josh said, squeezing Tyler’s hand once again to try to calm him. 

“Sure thing! It’ll be out in a moment.” she said, smiling and turning to start on the order. 

Tyler and Josh turned and went to search for a booth. Josh slid into one and Tyler sat across from him, a look of embarrassment still present. 

“What’s wrong?” Josh asked. 

“Nothing, that cashier just thought I was really weird because I didn’t order for myself.” Tyler said, his voice barely a whisper. 

“No, no. She didn’t think that at all. People do that all the time, I promise. I guarantee she didn’t think about it for a moment, even.” Josh said. 

Tyler sighed aloud, still not sure if Josh was right or not. He didn’t care as much though once the ice cream was brought out to them. 

They ate their ice cream in peace, laughing about stuff that had happened during school and both sneaking glances when they thought that the other was not looking. They talked about their friends, both mutual and non-mutual. Tyler couldn’t remember being so happy with anyone other than Hayley. Even after they ate their ice cream, they sat and talked. Tyler was happy that the owner didn’t end up kicking them out, but it was likely only because Josh knew her somehow. 

Once the conversation came to an end and it was obvious that it was time to go, Josh grabbed the remnants of their ice cream and threw them away. 

“Ready to head home, Mr. Joseph?” Josh said, smiling and holding out a hand for Tyler to grab onto. 

Tyler grabbed onto said hand and stood up from the seat before replying, “Of course, Mr. Dun.” 

The ride home was quieter than the ride there. It was almost 5:30pm. Tyler really didn’t want this time to end, but he knew it had to eventually. 

“I had a lot of fun.” Tyler blurted out once they reached the road his house was on. 

Josh glanced over and smiled largely. 

“Me too. We should do this again, if you want.” Josh said. 

“Oh, yeah. Totally.” Tyler said, nervousness taking over his brain again. 

Once the car came to a halt in front of Tyler’s house, he realized that he had to get out and actually head home. He paused for a moment first, hand still on his backpack, before turning to look at Josh. 

“Hey, Josh, can I do something?” Tyler asked, voice shaky. 

Josh nodded and Tyler watched his Adam’s apple bob in his throat. Tyler leaned over and hesitated for a moment, his ribs likely being bruised by the center console. He then pressed his lips to Josh’s cheek and pulled back, gauging Josh’s reaction. 

Josh smiled and giggled. 

“Yeah, we’re definitely going to have to do this again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Please leave KUDOS if you like this story, since I have no other way of knowing really. I appreciate them so, so much. Also, leave a comment! I love reading them when I wake up in the morning and I need some happiness sometimes! :) I'll talk to you guys very soon! Remember you can ask for my email at any time if you ever want to talk, or you can message me on tumblr :D


	7. When I Was Young

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He had seven days until Josh Dun, dressed in a black suit and red tie, would be stopping by his house to pick him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow!!! It's been literally forever since I've updated. I had to take a work, school, and mental break. Stuff was goin' on. From now on, I'll try to update a lot. I know, for sure, that I will update more often. I had to read some stuff, write some bad stuff, and take some time for myself. Anyways, I hope you really enjoy this long-awaited chapter. Please share with anyone, leave kudos, and write some comments! I love comments so, so much. :)

Tyler had seven days until prom night. He had seven days until he was going to be in a one hundred degree room full of sweaty teenagers. He had seven days until Josh Dun, dressed in a black suit and red tie, would be stopping by his house to pick him up. Tyler was simultaneously so ready and so terrified at the same time. 

He and Josh had been talking every single day, both in and out of school. They spent every lunch period together and texted almost constantly. 

At the moment, Hayley was laying face first on Tyler’s bed. They had made plans to work on their biology project together after school, but Hayley had a killer stomachache and really only felt like eating chocolate. Tyler had no issue with this and just kept dishing it out to her.

Hearing Tyler’s phone chime with a text message from Josh, Hayley quickly rolled over onto her back. 

“Y’know, Joseph, I saw a lot more of you before you went off and got in a relationship.” she said, staring up at the ceiling fan. 

“How do you think I feel when Chad comes back into town? It’s like you go on vacation from me or something.” Tyler said, smiling and looking at her newly dyed pink hair. 

“Hm, that’s true.” she said, taking a deep breath before continuing. “But you can never un-friend me. We’ve been in this too long for you to just drop me over a hot guy.”

“Ha! You admit that he’s hot. Also, Hales, I would never even dare. You are my best friend, forever and always. Even if you start to hate me.” Tyler said. 

She tilted her head back to look into Tyler’s eyes and smiled. 

“I never said he wasn’t hot. Everyone in the whole school knows that boy is hot. That’s how it doesn’t make sense why he likes you.” Hayley said.

Tyler gasped audibly and picked up a pillow for the floor, soon after hurling it at his best friend’s head.

“Hey, that’s not nice!” she yelled in response, rubbing the spot where she was hit.

“You aren’t very nice either.” Tyler said while giggling. 

They talked for a while more, with Hayley continuously mentioning how head over heels in love Tyler has always been with Josh. 

“It was so obvious right from the beginning! Everyone knew except Josh. I swear, it was this crazy phenomenon. The poor boy didn’t know what was coming.” she said while laughing. Tyler turned crimson and hid his face in his knees. 

It felt like the times when they were in middle school when they used to share secrets and talk about cute boys. Things were so much easier back then. Now they had college, relationships, AP testing, and so much more. The thing is, back in middle school, they thought that was the hardest time of their lives. Whenever Tyler was with Josh or Hayley, things felt so much simpler. He felt much more at ease and happier. 

Tyler was snapped out of his train of thought as he heard his phone ring. He reached over to grab it, seeing ‘Mom’ flash across the screen. He pulled it up to his ear after he clicked accept. 

“Hey, baby. I’m at the store so I can pick something up for dinner. Is Hayley is staying for dinner?” his mom asked. 

“One second, I’ll ask.” he said, holding up a finger to Hayley, who had just lifted up her head to look at Tyler.

“Are you staying for dinner?” he asked.

“Nah, I have to go home and actually see my parents for once.” Hayley said, smiling. 

He nodded and relayed her response to his mother before saying goodbye and hanging up. 

“Speaking of seeing my parents, I should leave right about now so I can get home before my dad leaves for work. I’ll see you Sunday, right?” Hayley said, standing up and straightening out her shirt. 

“Yeah, you cannot ditch our carnival plans.” Tyler said. 

“I wouldn’t miss them for the world.” Hayley said, picking up her bag and smiling. 

Tyler stood up and hugged Hayley for a long time, pressing his face into her neck. 

“Thank you for spending time with me. We need to do this way more often. If we don’t, I’m gonna have to fight that boyfriend of yours.” Hayley said. 

“Not my boyfriend!” Tyler exclaimed, watching Hayley leave.

“Yet!” she yelled back before closing the door.

Tyler laid on his bed and smiled. Life was going better than he ever could have expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo hoo! This chapter wasn't the best, I know. I have to get back into my writing groove. I'll be there soon! I'll see you guys super, super soon! :) Remember to share, kudos, and comment!!!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave kudos, comments, and share with your pals if you liked it. Let me know if you would like this continued because I would be happy to continue! Thank you for reading! :)


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